Rum Running in Guysborough

Posted on Jul 17 2007 in Feature Articles, Upcoming Events

Staff reporter Josh Measures had a chance to sit down with Mary-Colin Chisholm, author of The Mulgrave Road Theatre’s By The Dark of The Moon, which will be running from July 27th to the 29th. The Canso Breeze would like to thank Emmy Alcorn, Mary-Colin Chisholm, and everyone at The Mulgrave Road Theatre for the opportunity to sit down and chat with the writer.

Josh:
Why did you feel it was so important to do a piece on rum running?

Mary-Colin:
For me personally its just really a magical time. I think the 20s is when I would have liked to have been alive if I wasn’t alive now, so it was a chance to go back to a time when things were really up in the air and really lively here.

Josh:
This theatre has won numerous awards, yet it comes from a community with a relatively tiny population. Can you explain the theatre’s popularity?

Mary-Colin:
I think the small population gives us a chance to focus that you don’t get in the urban centres, so I think it’s actually inspiring for artists to come here and work. I find the cliche to be reversed, people in rural areas are more worldly because they’re looking at the urban centres, where as the urban centre is only looking at itself. Over the years it has been very fertile ground for artists to come here and they feel inspired, and they also feel they have the space and limitless horizon to create.

Josh:
Why was it important to perform this piece in Guysborough?

Mary-Colin:
Relative to what we do, this is a bit of a splashier set with a bigger cast, so hopefully its a bit of a gift to the people here for the years of supporting us and making us feel welcomed. It’s a way for the theatre to give a fun evening to the community.

Josh:
What can the audience expect?

Mary-Colin:
I think they definitely expect a fun night out, some really beautiful music. There’s some humour and some local references that will probably make people smile. We’ve created a fictional town, a composite town, and we’re also doing it in a rather exaggerated style, kind of a music hall style in a way, but I think if people have been long time fans of Mulgrave Road, they’ll appreciate that we’re experimenting with a bigger look and more production values. In that way I think it’s going to be, visually, quite gorgeous and I hope the story has some unexpected twists and turns that will keep people hooked. Although it’s a composite town, there are a few specifics which do come from the research, and the interviews that we did. There are some funny stories we managed to touch on.